Tangram

Disrupting the hospitality market

Identifying room for opportunity

Kempinski Hotels traditionally offers luxury hospitality, but it realized there was a market gap in Chinese accommodations. With only five-star luxury or two-star dreariness to choose from, business travelers had limited hotel options. Kempinski seized the opportunity, selected Beijing as its first location, and engaged Landor to innovate a three-star offering designed to meet business guests’ ever-changing needs.

What we did

Brand strategy & positioning

Product & service innovation

Research & market analysis

Identity

Naming & verbal branding

Room layout

Furniture design

Architecture

Signage

Making business travel more enjoyable

Landor’s research revealed that most business travelers considered their hotel stays an unavoidable and unpleasant interruption to their busy lives. The new three-star brand could differentiate itself by providing a flexible stay where professionals could work, relax, and remain connected.

Switching on and off

We anchored the brand experience in the core concept of switching “on and off,” according to one’s needs. Check-in could be fast and automated, or relaxed and personal. The lounge could work for formal meetings or chill chats, while in-room modular “bed-desks” enabled plush crash pads to transform into fully functioning offices in a snap—despite the room’s 20 square meters. Even the hotel name, Tangram, nods to modularity, referring to the Chinese geometric puzzle with multiple configurations.

The key to flexibility

In China, many business travelers do not have credit cards, making payment for hotel services onerous. We created a universal prepaid Tangram key card that could be used for check-in and check-out, room access, debit card, and loyalty programs. The card also enables guests to combat boredom by taking advantage of unique services such as Stop&Shop with Xbox, iPod, and laptop rentals.

Expanding to new markets

Since opening, Beijing’s Tangram Hotel has enjoyed steadily rising occupancy rates, stellar ratings on TripAdvisor and Ctrip, and a consistently booked restaurant. Tangram opened a second hotel in Kurdistan, and plans to open hotels in more emerging markets in the near future.